#Free Music?
7 messages in this thread
3Does anyone know of a good source for copywrite free music? i.e. clip
music. I'm particularly interested in classical. (Gearing up for my
thesis animation)
Ian.
I saw an ad in the back of CADENCE magazine a couple of months ago — might try
there.
-John
There is essentially no such thing as copyright free music due to the
common law copyrights of any creator. There are copyright expired
music recorded on some old 78 RPM records if this is what you need or
mean. If you are looking for a legal source of music for background
you might try library music licensed for a particular use and charged
usually by the "needle drop" or "Laser drop". Another cheap source
is "buy out" music, licensed by the producer for life of the
copyright. We do music scoring to video here with library music and
do the legal licensing for you. We have retained legal counsel, an
expert in copyrights and trademarks since this area has become a
significant part of our income here. I avoid using amateurs because
they can get you into trouble with the look and feel law and many
times do not properly contract their performances to protect your
rights.
How long is the performance to be? If you can give me some more detail I might
be able to recommend something for you.
I'm looking for about 20 – 30 seconds worth of dramatic classical music.
Something like Wagner's Sigfried's Funeral from the Ring or Verdi's Requiem. I
was hoping for something like Corel's stock photo cd's (except for music, of
course.) This is for student work, so I don't have any money to spend.
Ian.
I have two CD's that might work since there is a collection of 2-3
minute cuts. totaling over 2 hours worth of Classicals. There is a
"fair use act" that allows certain educational and Not for Profit use
of music but this is out of my area of expertise. You may want to
contact Rights and Permissions, Inc. in New York. 1-212-580-0615.
(phone # is 2 yrs old) They may be able to guide you as to the fair
use act for your specific application. I tried to use them once to
add a piece of requested music to a video I did of a class field trip,
but this educational application did not qualify as "fair use" Your
application may, however, and I would think the research and
responsibility of your approach to this issue will be a valuable
education in itself. Let me know how you make out. Have the details
ready for them when you call, such as the record numbers ASCAP, BMI,
title artist,,,, etc. They have to know this before they can give
you anything.
Thanks, I'll let you know what happens.
Ian.
Ian,
Don's replies are right on for the most part. Music is a very
complicated and slippery business. One suggestion comes to mind
though, there is a CD Magazine?? called NAUTILUS that has different
music cuts on it every month and I believe they are all royalty-free
as part of the CD.
If you want to check them out their number is (800) 637-3472 and their
FAX is (614) 761-4110. They are located in Dublin, Ohio.
I once had a big law firm tell me that you could use any music for a
production as long as it was not for public distribution or for
profit. I am not absolutely sure I go a long with this theory, I
usually stay with library music for my productions, but for their's,
I had them sign a waiver. Also one thing to be careful of with
Classical music is that although the music is in the public domain,
the performance is protected by the orchestra. I hope this helps.